Feb
14
Patent updates
Posted by Dirk Avery at 10:05 am under Litigation, Patent.
Negotiators looking to revamp America’s patent system say they have begun to find common purpose, but as a recent dust-up between two big players in the debate illustrates, a final agreement remains elusive.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has sponsored an unusual provision at the urging of the nation’s banks granting them immunity against an active patent lawsuit, potentially saving them billions of dollars.
Adopted with little fanfare, the amendment would prevent a small Texas company called DataTreasury from collecting damages from banks for infringing on its patented method for digitally scanning, sending and archiving checks. The patents were upheld last summer by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after they were challenged.
Going green with Eco-Patent Commons:
Companies normally guard their technological innovations. But concerns about the environment are prompting some multinational companies, such as Pitney Bowes, to recycle intellectual property through a program called the Eco-Patent Commons. The companies hope granting free access to some of their intellectual property will advance corporate sustainability and spur innovation to help improve the environment.
The first experiments using human embryonic stem cells in human subjects could begin within a few months, the chief executive of biotech Geron said Monday.
At the annual BIO CEO conference in New York, Dr. Thomas Okarma said Geron plans to start embryonic stem-cell studies in humans with spinal cord injuries toward the end of the second quarter. Okarma said the tests would involve up to 40 human patients, while all prior tests involved rats.
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